Tohka is now under the protection of <Ratatoskr> and she lives a normal life with her Spirit powers sealed. However, Tohka isn’t the only Spirit that can cause spatial quakes. The next Spirit is identified as [Hermit], a small blue haired girl with a large coat outfitted with bunny accessories. Shidou recognizes the child as someone he met one day playing in the park. He doesn’t believe that she would cause any harm to anyone, and yet all the AST cares about is taking down the enemy that causes harm to this world.

The method that could overthrow this situation…there was only one way.

Seal her powers by kissing her.

Tohka has her powers sealed and she now goes to Shidou’s school as a human being. For the first half of the light novel, Shidou undergoes live combat training as he tries to cope with the naughty events that happen while Tohka is staying with him. But after fooling around for a while, Shidou sets out on a misson to seal the [Hermit]’s powers. Yoshino Puppet is not as dramatic as the previous volume, but it shows growth for Tohka as she has to deal with the newest Spirit being a potential love rival.

Like I said earlier, there are more romantic comedy situations under the pretext of training Shidou. There are cases of where Shidou walks into Tohka changing in the bathroom, misunderstanding at school about living together, and falsely sleeping in the same bed (due to Kotori’s influence). It’s nothing out of the ordinary for a light novel in this particular genre but seeing as it will probably become a normal occurrence, it is best to point this out.

The second half of the volume is focused on the newest heroine, Yoshino. The mission isn’t like the last time, where Shidou has to go on a date with the Spirit, but rather a series of friendly interactions. In a way, it’s like Shidou with Kotori wearing her white ribbons except more soft-spoken. There’s nothing romantic that happens between the two, but they create a very comforting environment when they aren’t involved in any action.

Shidou continues his kindness from the first volume, extending his help towards the newest spirit, Yoshino. She is a shy and gentle Spirit but when speaking from her puppet, she becomes very vocal and outspoken. While the light novel expresses both the themes of mercy and protection, the execution is weaker compared to its predecessor by cutting her portion of the volume in half.

Tohka shines in the spotlight for this volumes as she deals with jealousy and her feelings now that another girl stands in the way of her and Shido. This is different from her rivalry to Origami due to Shidou actively trying get closer to Yoshino. It creates understandings for Tohka as she thinks Shidou doesn’t like her anymore. It wouldn’t be a romantic comedy if we didn’t have two love interests trying to woo our main character, but Date A Live effectively uses the cliche to give Tohka development. By the end of the story, we are shown results of Tohka’s acceptance of Shidou’s character.

The illustrations for this volume sticks solely to character designs, featuring our increasing cast of characters. There is a lot better control in the usage of black in the regular illustrations. Otherwise, the quality for the drawing stays consistent.

Volume 2 of Date A Live extends the idea that Spirits don’t intend to cause any harm to anyone and it does so for the latter half of the story. In the meanwhile, Date A Live stays to its romantic comedy core while adding another character to Shido’s harem.

Rating: Average – Recommended*

* – Strongly recommended if you liked the first volume and want to continue.